Diablo III Changes Mean More Waiting, But the Delay Should Pay off

Attributes have been reworked, selling on the go is gone, and the Town Portal is back.

In a somewhat lengthy blog post yesterday, Diablo III director Jay Wilson outlined a number of changes Blizzard is making to the game ahead of its release. These range from smaller, simpler changes like removing the need for Scrolls of Identification up to an overhaul of characters' core attributes, which in turn means more waiting for the game to be done.

Even before that Best Buy display was pulled, it didn't seem terribly likely that the game would be suddenly thrust upon us with so little notice. Wilson's blog detailing the new changes reaffirms there is still some waiting to be done, although many fans continue to prefer that Blizzard just ship the game already.

"While working on Diablo III we've been called out for messing around with systems too much, that the game is good as-is and we should just release it," Wilson wrote. "I think that's a fair argument to make, but I also think it's incorrect. Our job isn't just to put out a game, it's to release the next Diablo game. No one will remember if the game is late, only if it's great. We trust in our ability to put out a great game, but we're not quite there yet. In addition to finishing and polishing the content of the game we're continuing to iterate on some of the core game systems."

Blizzard going to great lengths to polish its games is nothing new. Wilson saying no one will remember if the game is late is absolutely true -- if Diablo III was to come out after this decade-long wait and be a disappointment, that would be a blemish we wouldn't forget anytime soon. But if it turns out a few more months are needed? Not exactly a big deal when looking at the whole picture.

For all the dwelling we do over the wait for Half-Life 3 or Episode Three, delays are rarely if ever brought up when discussing Episode Two. You might not even remember that it was delayed, yet there was a fairly substantial wait for it, even if that's not what we remember about it. And why is that? Because the final product was terrific.

It's unclear just how much longer we'll have to wait for Blizzard to be satisfied with the changes it's implemented. The changes outlined in Wilson's blog have largely been implemented, as we'll be seeing in a new update to the beta, but that doesn't mean the changes are ready to be pushed out the door in a final release.

"I do not intend to impress that we're close to release, or infer any such 'we're <-- this --> done' kind of statement, but most of these are fairly straightforward changes that are already complete and implemented," said community manager Micah Whiple in a forum post. "We do have more changes, skills and runes, affixes to add, more items, Battle.net features, testing, testing, and more testing etc. to do so we're obviously still not there yet, but none of the changes detailed today are theoretical or yet to be implemented."

As is to be expected with any changes to a game with such an ardent fanbase, feelings in the community are mixed. While I haven't spent as much time playing the beta as I expected -- I find it hard to invest in a character I'm going to lose when the beta concludes -- I have played enough to feel like the changes are an improvement. Eliminating the need to haul around Scrolls of Identification is a welcome move, and I'm happy to leave them as a relic of the past. Bringing back the Town Portal in place of the Stone of Recall (in name only) is a harmless change, yet it's one I appreciate as a diehard Diablo II player who enjoys the occasional callback.

Other changes are more controversial. The Mystic artisan, whose job it is to enchant items, has been deemed redundant and is being removed. That doesn't mean she's gone for good; Wilson said she could come back later in a form that differentiates her from the customization options already in the game. Regardless, for the time being it remains an option being removed. With all this talk of Diablo III ending up consoles (which is inevitable, though as yet unofficial), anytime something is simplified or removed, hardcore PC supporters feel like the game is being made more console-friendly at the expense of a 'deeper' experience.

Also being removed are the Cauldron of Jordan and the Nephalem Cube, which allowed players to break down and sell items while in the field, respectively. The ability to salvage items is being handed over to the Blacksmith, giving you another reason to head back to town from time to time. And that's just as well; the occasional breather while sitting in town provides a break from constantly being out in the field, which was exactly the thinking behind this move according to Wilson. Having the ability to sell or salvage everything you come across while never leaving the field downplayed the importance of the town, and this will hopefully lead to time spent in the field being more focused on action. Drawing a more clearly defined line between downtime and action sounds, at least in theory, like a good thing.

In what feels like a similar line of thinking, the usefulness of common items (indicated by the color white) has been downgraded greatly. Previously these items could be broken down, possibly leaving you with something useful. Now these items can't be salvaged, nor will they be worth much to merchants.

It might sound like a puzzling decision on the surface -- why have enemies drop items designed to be pointless? -- but that's explained by Whiple quite succinctly: "Because the game is about fountains of loot exploding out of demons." If every item that drops has some use to you, the significance of actually finding something good or useful is lessened. But if you come across loads of junk before finally finding something you have a use for, those moments become more exciting and special. That's why, annoying as it may have been to come across a quiver of bolts or arrows in Diablo II, they did serve a purpose even to non-archer players.

Perhaps the most significant (and therefore controversial) change is to character attributes, which are now Strength Dexterity, Intellect, and Vitality. Each of the first three now has a direct correlation to the damage done by one or two character classes, ensuring it is fairly simple and easy (or at least easier) to determine what items are best for which characters. Wilson said the "change makes the stats more intuitive and fixes some of the itemization issues we were running into."

This won't prevent items from being diverse, though, as Wilson said, "The item hunt has always been based on secondary stats and affixes, and we're working hard to ensure build diversity is as large as possible by getting as many affixes into the game as possible (adding more item affixes is also something we've been working on). Simply including affixes that augment specific skills greatly expands the itemization pool and build possibilities."

It's this change that is likely to be among the most time-consuming of the bunch for Blizzard; Wilson noted, "Obviously these stat changes are one of the bigger systems changes we're currently working on as they have far reaching requirements to re-itemize and balance the game."

However long it does end up taking, though, most players will ultimately find it doesn't matter in the end so long as the game is good. Based on the current incarnation of the beta and the thoughtfulness behind these changes, it seems as if players have little to worry about on that front.

1UP Hates PC Gamers

Apparently they don't consider PC gaming a valid form of gaming anymore since this is the #1 article and it was written almost a year ago. So sad. Wonder where we should go instead for PC game articles.

Still no offline...

I keep hoping to see "pure offline mode included" (I'll keep hoping for it as I'd like a lag free experience ESPECIALLY when I'm playing it as a single player game).

Still though - I hope the changes they're making are really for the better and not to force people to break up the action (take a little longer for players to finish the game as they now have to spend a little extra time jumping back and forth between merchants and the "battlefield"?) when they don't want it broken up. I also hope that it doesn't simplify things even more (removal of scroll of identify)

Of course I guess I just get too caugh up in something that I probably won't buy without knowing what it'll run like over my connection...I'm just still a passionate fan of the previous titles so it's hard to let go.

I actually agree with their changes

When I first read it I was like WTF WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? But then I thought about it...and all the townfolk were useless to me. I didn't use them to sell anything or buy anything. If you weren't a) the blacksmith or b) had a ! or ? above your head I had no use for you. Now you at least have reason to know where the shop is.

And since you have unlimited portals and tbh your inv is pretty big. Even after they changed where you got the neph cube in the beta (from like lvl 4-5 to lvl 6-8) I had enough room to hold every item that dropped. So it's not going to slow you down too much. Regardless I'm beyond amped for the game. I don't even consider it when ppl ask me most the time what games I'm excited for because it shoudl go w/o saying this is the #1 most anticipated game of whenever it comes out (I'm hoping for a Dec 27 2035...I know it's a gamble but I'm pretty sure they'll make that window).

Offline would be so nice

I travel for work and am often without a dependable internet connection. I would love to be able to play an online character solo until I can return to civilization, but that's looking like a pipe dream.

I'm not sure exactly why offline is not being included. Whether it's piracy protection, duplication and hack prevention, or most likely some blend of lots of things, I would gladly go under the Blizzard microscope to prove that I just want to play the game I bought whenever I would like to play it; Internet or not. I am also a passionate fan of the Diablo franchise, as you so elegantly put it.

Regardless, I can't wait to start looting again and finding items that are actually interesting. And leveling up my character and finding fun builds to try. There's really no other game like a Diablo.

Not a good sign

What ever happened to them toting a desire to never break up the flow of combat by sending you back to town for inventory management? I'm quite disappointed that they keep second guessing their own ideas. They seem to lack focus and are constantly changing some of their core design philosophies. It's hard to have confidence in the cohesion of the design team when they lack the confidence to stick to their guns on their ideas.

Their initial philosophy of keeping you in the flow of combat and killing monsters without the distractions of mundane inventory management was a great idea. Giving us the ability to sell and salvage any loot we didn't need on the fly was a massive boon to the flow and pace of the game. For people that played D2 it looked to be an ideal solution to the inventory problems and promised to be especially effective in improving the flow of a co-op dungeon crawl. No pointless trips to town and no allies holding things up by agonising over loot choices. Just pure uninterrupted monster slaying.

Now they remove these features and act like they're improving their game? Removing featues is not an improvement. Taking no steps forward and two steps back to an archaic and outdated loot system is not progress. If you polish too hard you end up removing some of the paint. Stick to your guns and finish the game.

Meh

Blizzard is designing the game. They play it on a daily basis. Since they are working on the game they have the right to add or remove features as they see fit.

"Removing featues is not an improvement" Why not? If a feature in a game breaks immersion, feels tedious, or just isn't fun to play at all. Why keep it? How many games have feautures that are downright stupid and repetative? Too many to count is the answer.

Also, I think you are reading into this too much. Sometimes ideas sound good on paper, but when they actually make it into the video game the devs realize that it just isn't any fun.

Try and have some faith. Maybe the designs they are changing weren't working out with their original philosophy. Maybe they are sticking to their guns and making changes because they know that they can design a better game.

your concerns

are valid, but at the same time I'd rather see a company eliminate needless innovation, or purposeless innovation, for a substandard product. I would imagine that any kind of inventory management would interrupt the "flow" of combat, so a side-trip to the town doesn't really make much of a difference in my opinion.

As far as being annoyed in DII about the inventory restrictions, I never found using a scroll of TP (ha, just got that joke!) to be all that annoying. Personally, I thought that the lack of character of the towns was more annoying. I'd walk around Kurast, expecting to find something cool, and it was all wasted real estate.

That said, the only people who really know what they're talking about here are the developers, and to a lesser extent the beta testers. I imagine they know what they're doing, since they've done it successfully twice now.

blahh

i don't mind any of the changes. I do mind waiting longer and longer for this game though. I support Blizzard 1,000% in all their endeavors, but enough is enough. Crank these changes out and get this game on shelves.

Time isn't an issue

I'm glad Blizz intends to take as much time as needed to release the best product they possibly can. Even though I'm beyond excited for this release, I feel the extra time spent in development will be well worth it.

Nice changes!

Funny, at first the idea was to spend more time in the field without having to run back. Now they want more time to be spent in town. Which I enjoy actually. Being in town should be a larger component to the game. Also, I'm glad to have the town portals back. Sounds like good work all around.

DIABLO 3

The general feel of their statement didn't make me feel all warm n fuzzy inside. I have more faith in blizzard as anyone, but that statement felt like they were just saying 'we don't have full confidence in this product'. I'm sure it'll be amazing, but I do want to play very soon.